Tension has remained high in Niger Republic as the military
junta refused entry to a negotiating mission planned for Tuesday by the United
Nations, African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS).
U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland spoke with members of the
junta in the capital, Niamey, on Monday, but was not allowed to meet either the
detained President Mohamed Bazoum or the military ruler General Abdourahamane
Tchiani.
However, the U.S. government said it would continue to hope
for a diplomatic solution, State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, said on
Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the military governments of Burkina Faso and Mali
have called on the UN Security Council not to allow military action against the
putschists in Niger.
ECOWAS had threatened a possible military action against the
junta who seized power in Niger, suspended the constitution, and imprisoned the
president.
Burkinese Foreign Minister Olivia Rouamba and his Malian
counterpart, Abdoulaye Diop in a letter addressed to the UN Security Council
and the African Union urged them “to prevent, by all means at its disposal, armed
action against a sovereign state, the consequences of which would be
unforeseeable in their magnitude.”
Both countries said the aim was “to avoid the deterioration
of the security situation with the multiplication and spread of terrorists’
groups and a humanitarian tragedy.
Burkina Faso and Mali are currently suspended from ECOWAS
following coups and have clearly shown support for the military rulers in
Niger.
They declared that they would not support the ECOWAS
sanctions and that any military action would be seen as a “declaration of war”
against their own states.
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